Magoo, if you’re out there… I was at the store looking for some ginger for seasick prevention and I remembered your post about vertigo and nausea. Did anyone mention ginger as a preventive measure in your post? Folks here on PNet swear by it and the guys on the Mythbusters TV show said it works better than anything else out there.
I’m headed to the coast and it might get interesting. I’m taking some ginger along for the first time.
You experienced folks… what’s the best way to do this? How much and when?
with chicken
or tofu the night before…Thai or Indian is my favorite! and 5* to boot. 
candied ginger and tea are my favorites ‘on the water’ or the day of. You can munch the candied all day long.
good luck
steve
Ginger not that fussy
Easiest source we’ve found is dried and sugared ginger from the nearest health food stored, next easiest is ginger powder from the local food coop that tends towards organic etc. Add that to hot tea if taking that, also turns club soda into a not too sweet version of ginger ale. Just ingest some ginger in any form before getting on the water and keep some with you for a bit more at lunch.
Note on seasickness oft forgotten - a fully empty stomach leaves you much more vulnerable than if you make sure to put something into your system before getting on the water. Toast and peanut butter may be better than more fatty eggs and bacon, but if it’s the eggs or nothing have the cholesterol plate.
How about for rolling practice?
I tend to get dizzy and sometimes nauseous while practicing my rolls, sometimes worse than others. Anyone care to opine on how ginger might work for that?
Recommended dosages/servings?
Delphinus
http://www.AquaDynology.com
hi
When I first went sailing I got a bit green. I brought along some ginger the second time and it didn’t really do much. Maybe a little.
My opinion is take some dramamine for the first couple of times and you won’t get seasick, that worked for me, and in that time period I built up an immunity. Now I can go out in rough seas and stand on deck and be fine.
Point I forgot to mention
The above post reminded me -
I have a cast iron stomach when it comes to being seasick. If I do this long enough I’ll eventually get a real bout of it, but so far a smidge queasy and burping on a hot high-ozone day has been the worst of it. So a little ginger handles that fine.
BUT - if you are talking about truly getting seasick or being disposed to same, or don’t know and want to make sure, skip the ginger and go straight to the dramamine or at least those pressure point bracelets.
Asian food stores
They sell candied ginger pieces. Looks like dried fruit and keeps well.
infusions
You can infuse candied ginger into vodka, too.
Um, maybe that would be a break-even situation with respect to the queasy stomach…;-(
Many Thanks to All
– Last Updated: Jun-18-08 10:01 PM EST –
Pika, I bought some pickled ginger and candied ginger. Haven't tried either yet. I'm betting the candied tastes better. (hope you've healed up from your injuries). Tomorrow I'll pop open the containers. Delphinus, I've had a little dizziness when rolling but not any more. Maybe that just goes away after a while. Celia, the guys on the Mythbusters show compared ginger to dramamine and the ginger did just as well without causing the drowsiness associated with dramamine. Thanks Steve. Some the night before and some the day of. Gotcha.
'night y'all.
I'll give a report. Maybe I'll take the camera and post some shots. Ya ever seen the Cape Lookout Lighthouse?
Haresfur! I'm infusing Kahlua into vodka as I type. Mmmm... black russians.
All this talk of ginger makes me…
want a Dark n’ Stormy: ginger beer (NOT ginger ale!), dark rum, and fresh lime. With ice. If only I could find Schweppes Ginger Beer around here.
Kudzu, the pickled ginger I’ve had was sliced into limp juliennes and dyed red. It was salty. A decent garnish for some meals but not what you’d want to eat when seasick.
The candied ginger is MUCH tastier as well as easier to pack and eat while in a kayak. In fact, there are at least two kinds of ginger candy. There is the stuff that’s like dried fruit, and there is a ginger jelly in individually-wrapped small rectangles. Both are lightly sweet and refreshing.
I suppose one could mix ground ginger (the kind sold in supermarket spice sections) and powdered sugar into hot tea and drink that from a Thermos. Hmmm, I should try that next winter. Not for seasickness but as a morning wake-me-up drink. Or how about ground ginger mixed into hot chocolate? I bet that would taste good with a little nutmeg.
Ginger
You bet it works!!
I get sugared ginger from the ethnic area of the food market. You can also use ginger snaps(make sure they contain real ginger) or get ginger pills from a healthfood store.
Rolling / vertigo
I often will wear a hood when I practice rolls just to stop water from entering my ears. If I do a bunch of rolls without the hood, I sometimes get light headed and a bit dizzy and I’m convinced it’s the water in the ears.
Stewart’s Ginger Beer
has quite a kick to it too.
Jim
Thanks Kudzu!
I use ginger religiously when paddling big water since seeing that episode of Mythbusters. Gravol makes a chewable ginger product that works great, as well as ginger tabs. Unfortunately, not even ginger AND regular Gravol prevented the vertigo during rolling.
The regular Gravol tabs do work on the water (without rolling) but as someone else mentioned it makes a person stoopid. I hate the fuzziness it causes.
What does ginger work on, exactly?
I thought it “settled the stomach.” Vertigo is caused by an imbalance in the inner ear (then it affects your stomach). Might be why it doesn’t work for you while rolling.
I’m Back
– Last Updated: Jun-22-08 6:00 AM EST –
It was a short trip. Don't know if the ginger was a success or not because the sea was not 'angry that day, my friends' (a Seinfeld line).
A few shots:
http://community.webshots.com/album/563871185HvqUCx
(added a few more shots to give a better feel for the place)